2009 Tacoma Heater, am I just being too anal here?

Hi Guys,

So here's my issue. I'm a software developer and know my way around my truck a little bit, and I'm having a strange issue that maybe people could help me with.

I bought this truck exactly 2 years ago during the winter, heater worked fine and everything. During the June after, my buddy, who is a BG rep, gave me a free coolant flush service. Since my truck was purchased as is, and had 60,000 miles on it, I figured it couldn't hurt it. He did it, everything seemed to work well.

That winter, It started getting cold out, so I tried using my heater. The heater would only blow at cold air when Idling, and would warm slightly with driving. Common sense told me we f***** something up while doing that stupid coolant flush.

So, I took my truck into the Toyota Dealership, they said it was the thermostat. They changed it, nothing happened, they then said I needed another coolant flush, and that fixed the problem a bit...

Now, when I let my truck Idle, the heat blows out warm. Not hot, just lukewarm after 20 minutes of Idling. When I am moving, and get up to about 2000 RPM, the Heat gets really hot like it should.

Is this normal for a 4 cyl pickup. Should the heat be hitting max when just idling or am I just being picky?

 

I'm mostly trying to figure out if this is normal for this pickup, or if my heat should beat super hot just from idling. Right now it's just lukewarm..

 

Normal. Your coolent has to get hot for your heatrr to be hot. Sitting at idle wont do it.

 

Ok cool, I literally have the same truck as you have pictured below (Regular cab)

So if you leave your truck idling for 20 minutes, your heater blows warm but not hot? My wifes mustang blows super hot just from Idling... not a huge deal, but I'm kind of anal with these little things.

Thanks for the quick response though!

 

That doesn't seem right to me... once the engine is warmed up to operating temps, it should blow hot all the time....

I had that problem on my '91. Only blew hot when I was actually driving... problem was the coolant level was low because the damn head gasket was leaking. Doubt that's the problem on your truck though.

 

Any ideas what It could be?

I flushed my heater core, nothing really came out of it. Truck runs fine, no over heating or anything... I'm stumped...

 

How can I tell if my heater core is clogged. If I flush it, and water comes out, does that mean that it's clear? I think it's the heater core, since when it idles, the inlet is much hotter than the outlet.

 

If you flush the heater core you need to direct the water the opposite way of the normal flow to flush debris from the core.

 

I wish I could offer some more advise

Hopefully someone on here can offer some more suggestions!

Good luck

 

Yes,

I did that, nothing came out, Flushed for 10 minutes or so, water came out easily, no debri.... nothing....

 

Also, the heater temp must be turned all the way to HOT when doing the flush, didn't see that mentioned anywhere.

Otherwise, it doesn't matter if the engine is idling or cruising the highway, as long as it is running it will eventually reach normal operating temperature at which point the heater should blow hot, not just warm, this is assuming the thermostat is working properly and is the correct temperature thermostat. My truck starts blowing warm air after 45 seconds idling plus 2 minutes running, even on a 32*F morning.

 

Thanks, Maybe I did it wrong, do I need to have the heater on hot, and have the fan running, or just the Temp turned up to Hot?

 

The fan does not matter, so leave it off. As long as the temp knob is all the way to hot, you'll get maximum coolant flow to the heater core for a good flush.

 

Also, when I am moving, the air blows hot! Just sitting at an idle blows lukewarm air.

 

Ok, will try that tonight. I do not remember if I had the heat turned to hot when I flushed it...

Thanks for the tip, I'll post back here...

 

Out of curiosity, what does the cabin air filter look like?

 

Ok so when you are moving and its blowing hot what happens if you come to a stop and let it idle? Does it cool down back down to warm or does it keep blowing hot?

 

If I come to a stop at a light, it will keep blowing hot air for a good minute, but cools down... like it is running out of hot air.

 

I think the issue is in the blender servo that controls the air mixture not the heater core or cooling system. Once the truck reaches operating temp the thermostat keeps the coolant and a steady temp. it will change a little from idle through the RPM range but you are not going to notice it. Not sure what Toyota used on the 09' Taco's but I'm 95% they are electric servos. In older cars blender servo's were vacuum operated and when they went out they could change with RPM of the engine due to the vacuum the engine generates changing. That's where I would start my search.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/61-2nd-generation-2005/285024-air-mix-problems-heater.html

 

Tripps,

Good point. Although, the reason I'm thinking heater core, is because the hose going in is much hotter than the hose coming out, which is textbook definition of the clogged heater core, but like I said, I'm a total noob when it comes to this stuff.

Thanks all will let you know my findings!